Search narrows for Princeton administrator's position

PRINCETON — The search for a replacement for longtime town Administrator Bob Bruschi is down to 15 candidates who have submitted applications, a search consultant said today. The deadline for applications was Monday.

Town officials would not reveal whether any workers already on the Princeton payroll had applied for the job, though many, including Bruschi, openly speculate Kathy Monzo, Princeton’s assistant administrator and director of finance, has applied for the job.

Monzo has declined to comment publicly about the hiring process. During a news meeting Monday, Monzo recused herself from the discussion and would not comment on whether she submitted an application.

Bruschi, 61, will retire in December after 15 years of service that began in the former borough of Princeton.

Candidate applications were sent to Reagan Burkholder of Summit Collaborative Advisors, the town’s consultant. Mayor Liz Lempert and members of council will have an executive session July 28 at 5:30 p.m. to decide who among the candidates they want to invite for interviews, Lempert said.

The salary is a negotiable $180,000, depending on an applicant’s qualifications, according to a position profile detailing the job posted on the municipality’s website. There was no target number for how many applicants the town is expected to receive, Lempert said.

“We want to make sure there’s a smooth transition and that’s been our intention all along,” Lempert said.

Lempert said names of the candidates and other personal details would not be revealed, and she said the number of internal candidates also would remain confidential.

“We’re really lucky that we have an extremely capable, strong staff. Whenever we have a job opening, we often have really strong internal candidates,” Lempert said.

“Likely the people who are applying are currently serving as administrators and we don’t want to hamper our ability to attract the best people by making them reveal they applied,” Lempert said. “In order for us to have a professional, fair process, council needs to be given the space to have these conversations both with the candidates and amongst ourselves, like we would with any other personnel decision.”

The administrator does not have to live in town to be considered but is expected to “live within a distance of Princeton that will reasonably permit participation in late meetings, community events and emergency responses,” according to the position profile.

Bruschi, who grew up in the former township of Princeton, currently lives in Lawrence and lived in West Windsor when he started as administrator in 1999.

The replacement administrator will oversee nearly 270 full- and part-time employees in a town of 28,600 residents.

The role presents a fresh set of challenges, namely continuing the consolidation of Princeton into one cohesive organization. Both the former borough and township deferred some capital investment decisions, and Princeton is now faced with a need to repair or replace infrastructure and equipment in addition to other requirements.

Several departments have employees who are or will soon be eligible for retirement, so the administrator also will be involved in succession planning.

Within the first 100 days on the job, the administrator will be expected to report to council on Princeton’s strengths and needs, with any recommendations for changes and make recommendations concerning the structure and staffing of the police department, among other duties. By one year, the administrator will have to provide a status report on municipal infrastructure and equipment and propose a way to involve the community in strategic planning.

Part of the application included a series of 10 open-ended questions, such as “What is the largest capital project you have dealt with?” and “What have you done to foster diversity in your current organization?”

“I’m glad I have the job now because I don’t know that I could get it with the way they have it written out. I know they want to make sure they get people that are committed, and one way to do that is really to have a fairly rigorous, strenuous process,” Bruschi said during an interview with The Times last month. “Kathy (Monzo) is up for that challenge, and I certainly hope she does well with it, and we’ll see where that takes her.”

The town is considering whether to keep “some sort of assistant position,” Lempert said. Princeton could have the position “be a more junior position than it is now,” she said.

“This is still an organization in transition, and it’s too much for one person to do the whole thing at the level we expect them to,” Lempert said. “A person is going to need some sort of help if we expect them to be successful.”

The goal is for finalists to be interviewed and one selected by Sept. 27 so the new administrator can begin work on or about Oct. 27.